As you may know, Mary Michener died on November 19, 2010. With the arrival of spring, her family, associates, and friends will gather in memory of her life and many accomplishments. We anticipate many stories of her life and community projects.

This is both a notice and (for those able to attend) an invitation to the memorial, which will be on May 28, 2011, at 1:30 p.m., at 1706 West Second Street, Lawrence, Kansas, beside the house, under large canopies in case of rain.

The local Voter Education Coalition has announced plans for a Lawrence school board forum and a Candidate Fair for school and city commission candidates.

A forum featuring candidates for the Lawrence school board is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday in the City Commission chambers at City Hall. The event will be streamed live on LJWorld.com and broadcast live on Knology Channel 25. Questions for the candidates will be provided by VEC partners and will be accepted from audience members attending the event. Replays of the 90-minute forum will be available after the event at LJWorld.com and OnDemand on the Knology system.

A Candidate Fair for candidates in both the school and city races is planned from 10 a.m. to noon, April 2 at the Lawrence Visitors Center, 402 N. Second. Tables will be provided for all the candidates, who have been invited to pass out materials and meet with voters.

“This is a new event for us, and we hope local voters will take advantage of this opportunity to meet informally with candidates and ask any questions they have before voting on April 5,” said VEC co-chair Pattie Johnston.

The Voter Education Coalition is a nonpartisan partnership of more than 20 community organizations aimed at promoting civil dialogue and voter participation. A full list of partners is available on the VEC’s Facebook page.